Journal profile · WATER RESOURCES
Frontiers in Water
ISSN 2624-9375 · Frontiers Media S.A. · Switzerland
Frontiers in Water: CAS Zone 4 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.7 (journal website); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 13 weeks (community reports); 204 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Water is published by Frontiers Media S.A. and is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies, Flood Risk Assessment and Management and Water resources management and optimization, together about 34.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Water is a multidisciplinary journal that focuses on advancing research and understanding in the field of water resources. Led by Prof Praveen Kumar (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, USA) our journal welcomes contributions from various domains of water research, bridging the gap between scientific knowledge and practical applications. Our journal covers a wide range of topics related to water resources, including but not limited to: environmental water quality water and artificial intelligence water and built environment water and climate water and critical zone water and human health water and human systems water and hydrocomplexity water resource management. In particular, the journal welcomes submissions which support and advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), notably 6: clean water and sanitation. Frontiers’ journals require that manuscripts primarily comprising computational studies of public data, such as bibliometric and in silico studies, must include appropriate validation. Please refer to the Frontiers Standards for research methodology policy, for more information. Manuscripts not adhering to these standards will not be considered. Frontiers in Water is committed to deepening scientific understanding, detect nuanced patterns and trends, and develop effective solutions for the challenges facing water resources. It aims to do so by allowing unrestricted access to articles, and communicating scientific knowledge to researchers and the public alike, to enable the scientific breakthroughs of the future. Frontiers in Water is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): WATER RESOURCES
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 7%); most named United States 6, Germany 2, Netherlands 2, Mainland China 1, United Kingdom 1 (15 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Hydrology and Watershed Management StudiesEnvironmental Science16.4%
- Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementEnvironmental Science12%
- Water resources management and optimizationEngineering6.3%
- Water-Energy-Food Nexus StudiesEnvironmental Science5.9%
- Groundwater and Isotope GeochemistryEarth and Planetary Sciences5.3%
- Groundwater flow and contamination studiesEnvironmental Science4.8%
- Hydrology and Drought AnalysisEnvironmental Science3.9%
- Water Governance and InfrastructureSocial Sciences3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceINSPECPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Astrophysics Data System, CLOCKSS, Crossref
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.94LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.01LetPub ·
- h-index
- 51OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 460OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.23OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 180LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,312 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 233 | 233 | 96 |
| 2025 | 204 | 204 | 870 |
| 2024 | 186 | 186 | 1,670 |
| 2023 | 170 | 170 | 2,016 |
| 2022 | 252 | 252 | 3,904 |
| 2021 | 197 | 197 | 4,611 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 13 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 13 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | CHF 1,175 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 1,175 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,285 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
Figures/tables published under CC-BY; permissions required for copyrighted material. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
Open access under CC-BY license since July 2012. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
English language standards required. Model summary
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2624-9375
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Frontiers in Water
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Water in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Frontiers in Water is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Water Resources. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Frontiers in Water?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.7; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 6.2, h-index 51.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Water?
Authors report an average review time of about 13 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Frontiers in Water?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Reference style: Harvard; Templates: LaTeX and Word. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Frontiers in Water based?
Of the 15 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 7%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (6), Germany (2) and Netherlands (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Water?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Water is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and INSPEC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Water open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Water is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .